Erling Haaland / signs for Dortmund

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Chesterlestreet

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If people question the talent/ceiling of Haaland - then fair enough. It's understandable that they don't want to spunk 100m (or whatever he'll end up costing) on him. But to be against the idea on the basis of anything Martial has actually produced as a striker for United is - yes, what - absurd? He's our best current option, nobody will deny this, presumably. But he needs to take several further steps in order to look like a plausible starter up front for an actual top team (which we surely aspire to be).

Whether he will take those steps or not is something the jury is very much out on as far as I'm concerned.
 

tenpoless

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Needham said:
Love that "ramp up" imagery, as if the Manchester United nation state has landed one of its largest super transport carrier aircraft wherever the hell it likes in Salzburg to disgorge its officials and sieze its cargo. More likely, Woodward mistakenly emailed Haaland's dad asking him how to fix a fax machine.
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Which was read by his mum instead, to which She replied 'Haaland til ManUnited gjort dealio'.
 

jamesjimmybyrondean

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Chesterlestreet said:
Whether he will take those steps or not is something the jury is very much out on as far as I'm concerned.
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He can only take those steps if he keeps playing can't he. People want Halaand because Martial hasn't proven to be world class. If Kane was our striker there'd be less people asking for Haaland. But he's been given a chance now to prove whether he can lead our line and i mean stand out as one of the most integral players in the team. And hasn't he been doing that so far? Everything about our game changed when he came back from injury. He's shown maturity in his game and better decision making. He knows when to pass when to dribble and even what kind of shot should be played at a particular situation. He's been progressing and hopefully consistency is part of that progress

We all know Martial for his inconsitency which is also why some people are suggesting Haaland. But who knows whether this has changed. And I bet you we wouldn't find out if we sign an 80m striker in January. By January Martial should have also played more games for us to judge whether he can lead our attack or not. It's about consistency now for him and if he doesn't show that in the next games we play then we should sign Haaland to give him some competition.
 

pascell

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tenpoless said:
Haaland, Martial, James, Rashford, Greenwood doesn't look overkill to me.

If you add Sancho then yes, We'll have 3 players with similar play style. But the combination above looks good to me.
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But none of them are a natural RW. Imo add someone like Sancho and it's a very healthy looking and well rounded attack that will frighten defences. It would also allow all of them to develop naturally without too much pressure to perform as all of them would contribute to goals and assists, something our attack hasn't had in years! Anyone who says we shouldn't be in for Haaland should just look at when Martial was injured and it was up to Rashford to get goals, leaving ourselves so thin in attack is a recipe for disappointment and underachievement as injuries would hit us again.
 

jamesjimmybyrondean

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Question for those that want Haaland. So what happens if Haaland isn't available in January and Salzburg wants to wait until summer before they sell him. Do we keep playing with only Martial and Greenwood as our strikers?
 

Erictheking7

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I can't understand all the people against this signing because they don't want Martial upset. Signing Haaland will give us more options. If we want to challenge at the top of the table anytime soon we need better players pushing each other for starting spots.
Look at City, they had the best striker in the League in Aguero and they still went out and bought Jesus. Did that cause Aguero to become a worse player for the team? No, he's still banging them in when needed.
If we want to improve we need competition for places. Simples.
 

tenpoless

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Erictheking7 said:
I can't understand all the people against this signing because they don't want Martial upset. Signing Haaland will give us more options. If we want to challenge at the top of the table anytime soon we need better players pushing each other for starting spots.
Look at City, they had the best striker in the League in Aguero and they still went out and bought Jesus. Did that cause Aguero to become a worse player for the team? No, he's still banging them in when needed.
If we want to improve we need competition for places. Simples.
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Yes, I think it was a bit overboard but it did work. They won the league and is currently one of the best teams in Europe.

Never thought I'd be saying that.
 

stepic

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it's not like Martial isn't also capable on the left, too. starting this guy doesn't mean Martial gets shafted. we need options, all the best sides have them.
 

golden_blunder

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jamesjimmybyrondean said:
Question for those that want Haaland. So what happens if Haaland isn't available in January and Salzburg wants to wait until summer before they sell him. Do we keep playing with only Martial and Greenwood as our strikers?
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Sign him now and loan him back. Bring in a short term loan to provide cover and competition
 

Eckers99

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Njord said:
Was thinking about the players that play in the 2 in Ole's 4-2-3-1. Probably more correct to call them central midfielders.
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Yeah, I'm being pedantic but the point remains, if any part of our team needs urgent work it's the midfield. If we're playing 4-2-3-1 then we're 1 injury to Mctominay or Fred away from playing Matic. That's really worrying.
 

Ander herrera the warrior

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The people who dont want us to sign Haaland are the same people who wants ole sacked everytime Martial gets injured. Can't you all see how much are we depending on Martial as he is the only proper number 9 we have?

Also those who ask us to prioritize signing a midfielder over signing a striker. We have always been about strikers since Fergie days. I bet there has never been any year where Alex Ferguson went into a season like how we did this year, so light upfront.

Ferguson doesn't care about his midfielder or winger as much as his strikers. He wouldn't mind using a Phil Neville, John O Shea or Park in midfield as long he has at least 3 strikers on the pitch. Even there was time where we saw Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez and Berbatov all playing at the same time. He just loved goal scorers.
 

Lynty

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Could be a good bit of business, and something that is very plausible considering the connection to Ole.

Wouldn't improve our overall attack at all though. Other areas would need serious upgrades to get the best out of Haaland.
 

Handré1990

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rampo said:
Why are you turning this into a Martial vs anti-Martial thing? I don't think anybody is saying Martial is shit. People believe we need another striker to reach next level and some believe this kid is the right kind of striker we need.

You shouting a lot doesn't make your point right. Also, have you seen him play before deciding he is Lukaku kind of player or before making random statements like the team needs to create for him etc? Or is it just shouting loudly again so that your point is heard?
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It’s surreal. Not one post has been over the top criticism of Martial, in fact most have pointed out that we need an addition to him, for cover and competition.

One of the strangest strawmen I’ve ever seen on the caf, and that takes some doing. Martial FC is my jam, but this is just plain weird, in an unsecure «my gf is better than yours» kind of way.
 

VP89

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Handré1990 said:
It’s surreal. Not one post has been over the top criticism of Martial, in fact most have pointed out that we need an addition to him, for cover and competition.

One of the strangest strawmen I’ve ever seen on the caf, and that takes some doing. Martial FC is my jam, but this is just plain weird, in an unsecure «my gf is better than yours» kind of way.
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Just read @DoomSlayer posts. Its a good laugh.

In one post he suggests it's better to side with Martial because he's one of our own rather than some striker in another league. You can't really have a reasonable debate with anyone thinking that way.
 

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No one is shitting on Martial and in fact he remains a very popular player.

The objective facts are thus:
- He hasn't been able to get into the French national squad ahead of a shot Giroud who cannot even get a game for Chelsea.
- He can be it and miss (expected of a young player)
- Has been through a few injuries.

We cannot expect the goalscoring/ striking responsibility to fall solely on Rashford, Martial and a very green Greenwood. We are one injury away from going back to results like 1-0 Newcastle, 2-0 West Ham and 1-0 Bournemouth.

Haaland is a no brainer at the moment to account for the above. He's young enough to be rotated with Martial, it doesn't have to be either or. Both will have barren spells now and again, and we cannot afford to miss out on a talent of his magnitude. Of course it goes without saying that we need a creative midfielder with him too.
 

DoomSlayer

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VP89 said:
Just read @DoomSlayer posts. Its a good laugh.

In one post he suggests it's better to side with Martial because he's one of our own rather than some striker in another league. You can't really have a reasonable debate with anyone thinking that way.
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There is nothing more laughable than your attempts at pushing the agendas you have against certain players. I hope the club isn't as clueless to prioritise a superstar striker signing, though knowing how incompetent and knee-jerk the people on board level are, it won't surprise me.
 

Njord

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Eckers99 said:
Yeah, I'm being pedantic but the point remains, if any part of our team needs urgent work it's the midfield. If we're playing 4-2-3-1 then we're 1 injury to Mctominay or Fred away from playing Matic. That's really worrying.
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I think most would agree that McTominay, Fred and Pogba is the strongest midfield combination at the moment. With an injury to one of them we can rearrange and play Mata, Pereira, Lingard or Matic, or Gomes/Garner. I think those are better options than if Martial/Rashford/James get injured. Then we only have Greenwood, or we can play others out of position. As most think Pereira, Mata and Lingard are bad as number 10s, their way worse in any of the three forward positions.
 

Nigel Refalo

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Norway are playing my country Malta tonight. Might fancy going to watch him tear up our mighty maltese defence apart or is he injured?
 
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amolbhatia50k

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StrettyEnder07 said:
Calm yourself down buttercup, are there not no? Had about 10 at least having a pop at me today because I want Haaland signed so why don't you wind that neck in of yours
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Why wouldn't I be calm, princess? There's nothing wrong with not wanting Halaand signed as we do have other spots in our team that also need bosltering. In an ideal world we'd sign Sancho, and Havertz and Halaand and 3 midfielders and a new left back, but sorry to break to your precious self but the world isn't ideal. Now, I personally do think that we can do with a CF and if we can get this chap for 50 odd million and he's genuinely got top class potential then I'd go for him, as I think we can do with a target to cross to as well. But it's not necessary for everyone feeling this isn't the right move to be part of a "martial is the only CF we need" brigade. There's legitimate reasons either way given we are weak in midfield.
 

StrettyEnder07

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amolbhatia50k said:
Why wouldn't I be calm, princess? There's nothing wrong with not wanting Halaand signed as we do have other spots in our team that also need bosltering. In an ideal world we'd sign Sancho, and Havertz and Halaand and 3 midfielders and a new left back, but sorry to break to your precious self but the world isn't ideal. Now, I personally do think that we can do with a CF and if we can get this chap for 50 odd million and he's genuinely got top class potential then I'd go for him, as I think we can do with a target to cross to as well. But it's not necessary for everyone feeling this isn't the right move to be part of a "martial is the only CF we need" brigade. There's legitimate reasons either way given we are weak in midfield.
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Don't recall saying there is a problem with people not wanting United to sign Haaland, and are there other parts of the side that need improving? Thanks for letting me know, duly noted! And the Martial Only brigade I refer to are about 10 members who were going a bit mental at me for, god forbid, wanting United to have another option other than Martial, things like Lingard playing up front away at West Ham when Rash pulled up, would I prefer another option other other Jesse fecking Lingard leading the attack, your dam right.

If someone has a difference of opinion to mine, could not give a feck, all good. When people start having a go at me for wanting a different option than Martial, then yeah they will be told. If you have a problem with me doing that, again, couldn't really give a feck tbh.

If you actually read half of the posts, think I have said time and again that my personal preference would be competition for Martial (Haaland), Rash to stick to the left, James to cover both Rash and a new RW (as much as Sancho is the dream can't see it happening), so would go with Ziyech.

If Pogba stays, love to see someone like Van Der Beek come in, even Rakitic if he is available for 30M in January.

So before you try speaking to me like a cnut again, do some fecking research, you speak to me like a cnut, will do the exact same thing
 

He'sRaldo

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I remember when Alexis was signed on the basis of "world-class player available must be signed" and Martial was benched due to the high profile of the transfer.

With hindsight, we all realize that was poor management by Jose, so if Haaland is signed on a big fee to bench Martial (which he will, if he's signed on a big fee), then there's a risk of that being poor management down the road, especially if other positions are neglected in favour of the signing.


If he's able to come in on a moderate fee and immediately go out on loan for 1st team football, that would be better.
 

Nick7

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He'sRaldo said:
I remember when Alexis was signed on the basis of "world-class player available must be signed" and Martial was benched due to the high profile of the transfer.

With hindsight, we all realize that was poor management by Jose, so if Haaland is signed on a big fee to bench Martial (which he will, if he's signed on a big fee), then there's a risk of that being poor management down the road, especially if other positions are neglected in favour of the signing.


If he's able to come in on a moderate fee and immediately go out on loan for 1st team football, that would be better.
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and then if Martial gets injured we're fecked, again. There's no reason on the planet why we can't have two exciting talents vying for one position.
 

He'sRaldo

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Nick7 said:
and then if Martial gets injured we're fecked, again. There's no reason on the planet why we can't have two exciting talents vying for one position.
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Problem is they may not develop as well if they don't have 1st team football. I'd rather an already developed, experienced player be the backup so there's nothing to lose by sitting him on the bench for extended periods.
 

amolbhatia50k

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StrettyEnder07 said:
Don't recall saying there is a problem with people not wanting United to sign Haaland, and are there other parts of the side that need improving? Thanks for letting me know, duly noted! And the Martial Only brigade I refer to are about 10 members who were going a bit mental at me for, god forbid, wanting United to have another option other than Martial, things like Lingard playing up front away at West Ham when Rash pulled up, would I prefer another option other other Jesse fecking Lingard leading the attack, your dam right.

If someone has a difference of opinion to mine, could not give a feck, all good. When people start having a go at me for wanting a different option than Martial, then yeah they will be told. If you have a problem with me doing that, again, couldn't really give a feck tbh.

If you actually read half of the posts, think I have said time and again that my personal preference would be competition for Martial (Haaland), Rash to stick to the left, James to cover both Rash and a new RW (as much as Sancho is the dream can't see it happening), so would go with Ziyech.

If Pogba stays, love to see someone like Van Der Beek come in, even Rakitic if he is available for 30M in January.

So before you try speaking to me like a cnut again, do some fecking research, you speak to me like a cnut, will do the exact same thing
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The last paragraph truly has me shaking in my boots. I'm sure that's the case with the people "who have been told" too. Poor souls.

Look at these two posts below. Both disagree with you /signing of Halaand, but neither of their posts can be dumbed down to "just want one CF foreva" as you did you in the post I picked out. They've expressed concerns with having two CFs who both may expect to start and offered up a more viable situation of signing a backup for Martial who is of a certain nature/age (Chicharito/Mandzukic?) and hence while having the drive to want to play, may be more likely to accept backup role too.

Like I said if a top CF talent becomes available and one that is good in the air Id do the deal for 50 million points. But I can see why some have reservations.

settembrini said:
We only had Ronaldo, Berbatov, Tevez and Rooney in the squad for one season. And Ronaldo was a winger so wasn't competing with the forwards. And we always played two forwards so it was essentially picking two from three each week which is different from having two players compete for one spot. And we couldn't even keep those players happy doing this as Tevez got upset and left to go somewhere where he would always start.

It's fine to want a strong squad but just pretending that we can have 22 superstars is ridiculous, no squad has that. Haaland isn't going to join us and play second fiddle, if we were ever to sign him it would be as a starter and would likely mean the end of Martial. That's just reality.
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charlenefan said:
This!!

Looking at those players you listed I only see James as one happy to fill the squad player role, all the others would expect to play week in week out and kick up a fuss pretty quickly if it weren't the case

It's a situation pretty similar to the one Spurs had 2 years ago, they had a set starting XI which wasn't good enough to win the league but the players within that XI were too good to be backups so at some point you have to just sell one of those too good for the bench if it means replacing them with a next level star

I look at us at the moment I would suggest the perfect mix for us would be

Undisputed first choice striker who plays week in week out (in this scenario it would be Martial or Haaland assuming either are good enough)
Someone like Mandzukic - as an impact sub and starting the lesser games
Greenwood - as above but obviously at a different stage of his career
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VP89

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DoomSlayer said:
There is nothing more laughable than your attempts at pushing the agendas you have against certain players. I hope the club isn't as clueless to prioritise a superstar striker signing, though knowing how incompetent and knee-jerk the people on board level are, it won't surprise me.
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No one has an agenda against Martial. It's hilarious you talk of knee jerk just after calling him a "superstar striker" :lol:
 

DoomSlayer

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VP89 said:
No one has an agenda against Martial. It's hilarious you talk of knee jerk just after calling him a "superstar striker" :lol:
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So being valued at around £80 million or more does not indicate the status of Haaland? Is he just some promising young lad or is he not pandered around to the whole continent about being the next big thing?
 

VP89

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DoomSlayer said:
So being valued at around £80 million or more does not indicate the status of Haaland? Is he just some promising young lad or is he not pandered around to the whole continent about being the next big thing?
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No, he's not a superstar. He hasn't proved enough yet at the top level. But he's a fantastic talent and we need a striker.

Whislt talented, Martial has a poor fitness record and struggles for prolonged consistency on top. He's not proven as a 9, and all you have to suggest otherwise is an unnecessarily emotional "I bet my life he is" rebuttle.
 

DoomSlayer

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VP89 said:
No, he's not a superstar. He hasn't proved enough yet at the top level. But he's a fantastic talent and we need a striker.

Whislt talented, Martial has a poor fitness record and struggles for prolonged consistency on top. He's not proven as a 9, and all you have to suggest otherwise is an unnecessarily emotional "I bet my life he is" rebuttle.
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My "emotional rebuttle" was about something completely different, but it doesn't surprise me that you like to lie and twist the words of people, in order to achieve or gain whatever you are after - in this case, slating Martial and discrediting anyone who would defend him and his ability.
 

StrettyEnder07

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amolbhatia50k said:
The last paragraph truly has me shaking in my boots. I'm sure that's the case with the people "who have been told" too. Poor souls.

Look at these two posts below. Both disagree with you /signing of Halaand, but neither of their posts can be dumbed down to "just want one CF foreva" as you did you in the post I picked out. They've expressed concerns with having two CFs who both may expect to start and offered up a more viable situation of signing a backup for Martial who is of a certain nature/age (Chicharito/Mandzukic?) and hence while having the drive to want to play, may be more likely to accept backup role too.

Like I said if a top CF talent becomes available and one that is good in the air Id do the deal for 50 million points. But I can see why some have reservations.
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Its an online forum, if you get intimidated on this then you have some serious snowflake issues. Love the fact you speak to me like a twat and then your shocked I reply with the same kind of attitude as you had in your post.

Think I went back to both posts, first one detailing pretty much all top European clubs maybe with the exception of Liverpool who have two top forwards to chose from, who have various options and strength on the bench, not a case of "ah we have one top forward, that will get us back to fighting for titles and UCL's", very naive way of looking at it.

Same for the second post, think I asked them if they would be happy going for a Spurs approach, top starting 11 hardly any depth hope you don't get any injuries to your top players.............can't remember Spurs winning a trophy with this approach though.

Lets just say I am glad Ole is in charge and not some of the members on here, we would have a top starting 11 but no strength in depth in case any of our elite players got upset by a little competition.

All I got in my replies were "oh but we will upset Martial", "oh what about Martial he wants to be first choice", heres a thought how about playing out of your skin and ensuring the manager can't drop you, crazy thought that.

So the Martial brigade all getting upset because I want a bit of competition for him, are similar to the twitter Ole Out and the Rashford agendas going on. People need to calm the feck down and let Ole do his job.

And the last paragraph was not intended to put the shitters up you (sat behind a computer screen :rolleyes:), was simply saying dont speak to me a like im a twat
 

StrettyEnder07

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3 point warning haha note to self "someone speaks to you like shit, don't respond".

We best sign Haaland now that he has cost me 3 points! :houllier:
 
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